Cornsay Almshouses folio up for sale

Records of long-closed North-East almshouses will be up for sale at auction later this week (Thursday, March 28).

The document from Cornsay Almshouses, built in 1811 near Tow Law, County Durham, will go under the hammer on Thursday.

It contains names, dates of arrival, departures and deaths and is expected to sell for between £50 and £100.

The lot will be sold alongside telegrams from the 1940s and a poster advertising the sale of the Almshouses on January 10, 1949.

Fred Wyrley-Birch, from auctioneers Anderson and Garland, in Newcastle, said: “This is a fascinating book that tracks the development of a local charity playing a key role in society from the early 19th century.

“Helping to shed a little light on the many residents it supported across County Durham, it is wonderful to also have the poster that advertised the sale of the buildings, bringing a nice conclusion to the story.

“This is most definitely a rather special lot for the local historians among us in the North-East, as well as other collectors with an interest in the field.”